03 Jun Jogja 2017: ArtJog | 10 – a decade of art excellence

This is the first in a series of articles documenting our recent trip to Yogyakarta for ArtJog 10, and the numerous other exhibitions on during the one-month period of Jogja Art Weeks (JAW). Our first posting in the series focuses on the main event itself, ArtJog 10.

For one month every year, the Yogyakarta art community becomes a beehive of activity, far surpassing the city’s already busy annual visual art calendar of events. At the core of this frenzy is ArtJog, the annual contemporary art fair, which this year celebrates its 10th edition.

“Changing Perspective” is the curatorial theme selected for this year, reflecting the crossroads that Indonesian contemporary art currently finds itself at, and a good representation of the current developments being seen throughout the art world.

One could say that ArtJog is a barometer of Indonesian art development, and this year’s selection aptly provided a good representation. Not limiting itself to only Indonesian visual artists, the 59-artist line up also features 13 artists from around the world, including Najib Bamadhaj from Malaysia, plus Mark Justiniani and Ronald Ventura from the Philippines.

A feature of Art Jog that’s always anticipated each year is the frontage installation. Previous iterations of the art fair have featured some spectacular installations that have completely transformed the venue frontage.

This year, the honor went to young Indonesian artist Wedhar Riyadi, whose stunning Floating Eyes installation is the first thing that greets visitors to the Jogja National Museum where ArtJog is held. Covering a good portion of the museum’s front lawn, the sculpture installation is the artist’s conceptualization of the modern meeting space, where the lines between what’s private and public have been blurred in today’s digital era, spearheaded by the proliferation of social media.

"Floating Eyes" by Wedhar Riyadi, the front lawn show piece for this year's ArtJog

The official opening ceremony for ArtJog 10 was held on Friday May 19 2017, with a musical performance entitled Hypnagogia, featuring Arini Kumara (on Electric Cello), Lisa Gracia (on Harp), Monica Dyah Paramitha (Voice), and Servo Caesar Prayoga (voice Beatbox). The performance was a mix of popular music covers, delivered in a dreamlike style. Culminating the almost half-hour set had a troupe of hip-hop dancers joining the four musicians on stage, setting the cross-cultural fusion tone that ArtJog intended to deliver.

"Hypnagogia", a music and dance showcase that kicked off the opening night for Art Jog 10

Since 2013, ArtJog has recognized the efforts of young artists through their Young Artist Award, selected from artists participating in the art fair. This year, two artists were declared joint winners, out of a total of 14 artists aged 33 years and below whose works are part of ArtJog|10. The two are Syaiful Aulia Garibaldi (“Tubiflex Landsacpe“, Mixed Media; Live Video installation, 2017) and Bagus Pandega (“Random and Constant (oblique)“, Iron, rotating lights, DMX 512, PC, electronic system, 2017).

One of the Young Artists Award recipients, Syaiful Aulia Garibaldi (second from left), at the opening ceremony

The opening ceremony for this year’s ArtJog was officiated by Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Mangkubumi, on behalf of her father Sri Sultan Hamengkobuwono X, Sultan of Yogyakarta and Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, who was unable to attend the ceremony. The recognition given to ArtJog is testament to the high regard this art festival is given by Yogyakarta’s royal household, particularly in its ability to bring the art world to Jogja. Recognition, too, was given to ArtJog as a definitive representation of current developments in the Indonesia contemporary art scene.

As of the time of posting, ArtJog|10 is ongoing and will continue its run at Jogja National Museum until June 19 2017. There are daily performances held in the evenings, plus curatorial tours done at specific times during the art fair’s one-month run. You can find out specifics by visiting ArtJog’s website, where they have posted schedules and details of the various activities being carried out surrounding the annual fair.

Having had the privilege to attend ArtJog this year, our impression is that there is a strong awareness of the changing contemporary art landscape among Indonesian practitioners. As seen through the works on display, there has been a progressive but clear shift from the more traditional art forms (painting and sculpture) towards more new media and installation-based art over the past three iterations of ArtJog. There is a strong desire to make Indonesian contemporary art more universal, but this desire comes with it the risk of the art losing its identity with to big a swing towards the goal of universality.

From what we witnessed, the move forward is definite, but what forms the art will take from here on out is left to be seen. Regardless of what forms prevail, we think that the creativity and resourcefulness of Indonesian art practitioners will enable them to find a path that ensures their contemporary art remains a collective body of works that while modern and in tune with the times, embodies aesthetics and uniqueness making them very much Indonesian.